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Thankful for the Loser Lobster

March 19, 2020

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:25-34

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A Rooted Flower Loves the Sun

March 18, 2020

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners,
nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers. Psalm 1:1-3

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Joshua’s Question

March 1, 2020

Joshua 5:13-15

13 When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” 14 And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” 15 And the commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

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A Kibbutz in the Culture- Our Sunday Roundtable- Session 2, Week 12

Why are so many Christian movies, Christian novels, and Christian albums so bad? Does the indwelling of the Holy Spirit evict the artistic? Is the Christian audience so Stepford in its appetites that they’ll clap like seals for anything with a Scripture reference? Or, are believers afraid that if they produce parables; people won’t get the point?

After centuries of being the theater for war, violence, destruction, and dislocation, the Holy Land in the nineteenth century was barely inhabitable. The farmers had all fled, the vineyards had become thickets, villages were now quarries of rubble, and the irrigation ditches that honeycombed the plains were all dammed and dry. It was a bleak, post-apocalyptic sort of place. But it was in this environment that Jewish settlers moved in and started the kibbutz. These community settlements were begun for the purpose of both repatriating and restoring the land. They would make the Shephelah bloom again, bring a new vintage out of Hebron, and work to see the Jordan River once again water the Jezreel Valley. There was a time when the world of the arts blossomed with Christian themes and an era that saw the Biblical worldview inspire cultures around the world. Renaissance masterpieces were painted by Christian hands, literary classics were products of Christian minds, and some of the greatest symphonies were Christian compositions. But today, Christian contributions to the artworld are limited and out of the mainstream and the landscape is bleaker because of it. It’s time for the Church to kibbutz in our blighted culture. But how do we do this? Is the redemption of the national culture even a good and profitable use of our energies? Barbara Nicolosi is a Christian film critic who has spent her professional life advocating for increased Christian influence in Hollywood and working hard to realize that goal. She has some tough words for both the Church and the industry; but is passionate in her desire to see the Gospel story well-told. Please take a moment to follow the link and read through an interview with Mrs. Nicolosi in Aleteia, a popular Catholic online publication. Nicolosi’s unique perspective and stirring challenge should give us lots to talk about! Please consider joining us for a roundtable discussion on the subject of Christianity and the culture this Sunday morning at 8:30 upstairs in the Family Life Center. Hot coffee and a homemade treat will caffeinate and sweeten the conversation!

Click here to read the first article

Click here to read the second article

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Running the Relay

February 23, 2020

Hebrews 11:32-12:2

32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of  Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— 38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

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